Arnold Schwarzenegger names the ‘worst’ Terminator film: ‘It didn’t make sense’

Sci-fi franchise’s lead star has picked what he believes to be the weakest of the bunch

Arnold Schwarzenegger has named what he believes to be the worst Terminator film.

The actor has starred in the science-fiction franchise since the 1980s, appearing in five of the six instalments released between 1984 and 2019.

Ultimately, the films tell the story of a war between synthetic intelligence, known as Skynet, and the human resistance led by John Connor.

James Cameron directed the first two films in the series: The Terminator (1984) and Terminator 2: Judgement Day. Both were critically acclaimed.

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, directed by Jonathan Mostow, received middling reviews upon its release in 2003. The final three films of the franchise – Terminator: Salvation (2009); Terminator: Genisys (2015); Terminator: Dark Fate (2019) – are widely considered the weakest of the bunch.

Schwarzenegger, 77, has a particular hatred for Terminator: Salvation, which co-starred Christian Bale and was directed by Joseph McGinty Nichol, known professionally as McG.

It is the only film in the franchise the actor did not appear in – which was the basis of his choice.

Appearing on Watch What Happens Live, the FUBAR actor said: “I would say the worst was probably number four because that was done during the time I was governor [of California] and I was not in it.”

He told host Andy Cohen: “How do you do a Terminator movie without me being in the Terminator movie? It doesn’t make any sense.”

This isn’t the first time Schwarzenegger has expressed his disdain for the film. In 2015, while promoting Genisys, the actor expressed his gratitiude that he did not appear in Salvation.

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Christian Bale in ‘Terminator: Salvation’ (Columbia Pictures)

“It sucked,” he said in a Good Morning America interview.

The actor was more diplomatic when it came to picking his favourite, stating: “I really can’t say that. I think the three I was in all had their own personalities and interesting storylines.”

Despite the positive reviews, one person who is critical of the original Terminator film is its director and co-writer Cameron, who admitted to having some reservations about the film’s quality.

The film follows Schwarzenegger’s cybernetic assassin as he travels from the future to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) before her unborn son John has a chance to save humankind.

On why he finds some parts of the film embarrassing, Cameron said it was “just the production value” of the movie.

“I don’t cringe on any of the dialogue, but I have a lower cringe factor than, apparently, a lot of people do around the dialogue that I write,” he said.

Cameron co-wrote the film alongside Walking Dead producer Gale Anne Hurd.